This invention relates to means for aligning an applicator wheel on a tape splicer of the type which splices a pre-determined length of recording tape into a cassette. In splicers of this general type the process is started with a cassette which contains two rotatably mounted hubs connected together by a relatively short length of leader tape. To load the cassette with recording tape, the leader is cut intermediate the two hubs and the forward end of a length of recording tape is spliced onto the leader. The tape is very rapidly wound into the cassette and when the end of the tape is reached the other end of leader is moved into abutting relationship with the trailing end of the recording tape and spliced. In each case, the splice is made by first abutting the recording tape and the leader and overlaying a short length of adhesive which connects the two lengths of tape together. In the embodiment disclosed in this application, the splicing tape is applied in short lengths by means of a rotatably mounted applicator wheel which reciprocates down into and up out of tape splicing contact with the abutted ends of the leader and recording tape.
The applicator wheel described in this application is made of a hard plastic material and is provided with notches in each corner. After each reciprocation, a blade is moved laterally into the notch, cutting the tape before the next downward movement of the applicator wheel occurs.
The applicator wheel is controlled during its downward movement by a ratchet and pawl. However, the upward movement of the applicator wheel out of contact with the tapes is not controlled by the ratchet. Due to the very rapid downward and upward movement of the applicator wheel, and the sudden halt to the upward movement of the applicator wheel, the wheel can become misaligned. If the wheel is jarred out of alignment, the blade will not cut the tape by passing through the notch in the corner of the applicator wheel but will instead cut into the applicator wheel itself, damaging or destroying the wheel and bending or breaking the blade. Furthermore, since the tape is not properly cut, the next splice is not made, resulting in an improperly wound cassette which must be rejected as defective.